A review by lovegirl30
Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell

3.0

I am really mixed about what to say about this novel. I don't agree completely with all the negative ratings, but it wasn't the best young adult I have ever read. It was just okay. I am going to try to piece together my thoughts but this might end up being pretty long-winded.

You may think I am weird but I have been looking for a story written from the perspective of a serial killer for a while. I am very interested in the psychology of criminals, crime, and what drives a person to do such a horrid act. So I was eager to pick this little novel up. It disappointed me quite a bit though.

So this story follows Kit who is a seventeen-year-old murderer. Her mother is a super famous serial killer and has been training Kit to follow in her footsteps. She has known since she was a very small child how to brutally murder another human, and do it absolutely perfectly. She had her first kill at the tender age of nine. She has become the "perfect killer" and is notorious for her crimes in London. She gets this name because she leaves no trace or clues behind. Oddly enough though Kit isn't killing people because she enjoys suffering or causing people pain. To this girl, it is just a job, and someone must do it. In the end, we find out that maybe, just maybe she enjoys it a little.

In terms of characters, Kit was so ridiculous. She was incredibly rude and pretentious. Even for a murderer, she seemed to be far too evil, conceited, and completely stuck up her own butt. I did enjoy her character development, and overcame a few her mother's paranoia and past it wasn't enough to really save her as a character for me. I did like her mother as a character. She was haunted by what she did and I liked that.

The characters of Maggie and Michael were very dull and weren't completely developed. We never really got an idea about what their lives were like and who they were as people. There was no depth or any interest built into them. The character of the cop, Alex was completely unrealistic and stupid. It was hinted at a love interest when he was a twenty-something year old. I didn't enjoy how they interacted.

The writing is pretty mediocre. You can tell it was written when the author was very young. I found out that the author Ewell was only seventeen years old when she wrote it. The writing is disjointed, the descriptions are vague and repetitive. There are grammatical errors galore. Ultimately, the issue for me is that the writing is just completely emotionless. It feels like a school writing assignment at times.

There were a lot of things I liked about this story. It is extremely unique there aren't many stories written from the perspective of the serial killer. It was an engaging and entertaining plot. One that drew me in from the get-go.

All in All, the story is not for every reader. I believe this book has a very specific audience and it is obvious that I am not that audience. Ultimately I just think it could have used a few more rounds of editing but it is in no way a bad book. I am glad I got this book at the library before I decided to buy it.